Musicality Mini-lesson: Javier & Andrea 2011

December 21st, 2017
Musicality Music Improvisation

Before we get to this weekend’s “Rose Vine Tango” video, I want to offer you a musicality mini-lesson. 


Last week in our Musicality Mastermind, we looked at what tango dancers can do when they hear the bandoneons playing rapidly.


In tango music, a “variación (variation) is what we call a passage of one to four 8-count phrases during which one or more bandoneons play rapidly. 


Variaciónes are commonly danced in tango escenario (stage tango).The artists use those challenging segments, easily found in stage tango music, to show off their virtuosity, and these segments can be thrilling! Here are some examples of variaciónes performed by emerging professional dancers in a contest exclusively about variaciónes, hosted by Salon Canning in Buenos Aires. Each performance is about a minute or less: 



But this kind of interpretation has little to do with most of us, except as spectators.


So you may ask, “Do bandoneons also play variaciónes in music for dancing in milongas?”


Sure they do! Even in tangos with which you are probably very familiar.


Here’s a fun Youtube music video with 10 bandoneon variations from Pedro Laurenz’ classic, Golden Age dance orchestra. You’ll hear only excerpts of the bandoneon variations. It’s worth listening to if you’re a social tango dancer:



Did you ever hear something like those segments while dancing or while listening to tangos in your car and wonder whether you could dance to it differently than simply staying with the basic rhythm? 


Here’s another orchestra as an example. Juan D’Arienzo very frequently used bandoneon variations for the last two or four phrases of his tangos. A few of his tangos with variaciónes that you’ve probably heard in milongas, among countless others, are: “Mandria”, “Pensalo Bien”, “Paciencia”, and “La Bruja.” 


Speaking of “La Bruja”, I dug into my archives for this weekend’s “Rose Vine Tango” Video. It’s from a 2011 performance by Javier Rodriguez and his late partner, the beautiful and outstanding tango artist Andrea Misse. They were one of my favorite tango couples who came from the Villa Urquiza tradition. 


Here are Javier and Andrea dancing to D'Arienzo's "La Bruja", in Moscow, May 2011. We’re going to focus today on a 27-second segment.



In this video, I love what Javier and Andrea do from 2:44 till 3:11, when the bandoneons play “La Bruja’s” last four musical phrases as a variación! I love how they interpret it, fully dancing it as a variación, but without ever being frenetic. Notice the difference between their energy during this segment, and the energy you perceived about some of the dancers in the variación competition video above. Though this is also a performance, it’s very different from most escenario performances.


Could you do something like this segment in a milonga? Could you pick out parts from these 27 seconds that you could practice to use on the dance floor in a milonga? (No high boleos, of course!)

Abrazos,

Helaine

You have my permission to use this post. All I ask is that you include the following at the end:

Helaine Treitman is here to help you dance tango calmly and confidently, fully expressing your masculine self as you beautifully connect with the woman in your embrace. You’ll gain a deeply-informed understanding of tango music so you’ll know how to create magic for your partners, tanda after tanda. Start learning from Helaine now, with her FREE e-course, “9 Surprising Tango Tips for Men” — Get FREE Access Now!